1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of outputting an image by utilizing an image file, which includes picture data and image processing information of the picture data.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a recent trend, the popular procedure generates picture data with a shooting device, such as a digital still camera (DSC), a digital video camera (DVC), or a scanner and outputs an image from an image output device, such as a CRT, an LCD, a printer, a projector, or a TV set. The output image may not accurately reproduce the brightness or the color tone of a subject, due to the difference in color reproduction characteristics between the shooting device and the image output device. Retouching of picture data is generally carried out to correct such a difference in color reproduction.
Significant skill is, however, required for such retouching. Adjustment of color reproduction is thus difficult, time-consuming and labor-consuming. Some application programs have been proposed to analyze the picture data and perform automatic correction of the color tone and the sharpness. But such correction does not give the sufficient result since the characteristics of the shooting device are not reflected. In some cases, even unnecessary correction is carried out against the intention of the photographer in shooting. One applicable procedure transmits information regarding the characteristics of the shooting device and the intension of the photographer to the image output device and causes the image output device to carry out required correction based on the transmitted information prior to output of a resulting image. This procedure, however, undesirably restricts the output resource to the output environment that can utilize such information.
These problems are not intrinsic to the shooting devices, but similar problems arise in the process of generating picture data by computer graphics.